Three of a Kind
by Xodarap
Summary: Sequel to "Two of a Kind", Xander and Harley are dealing with their feelings for each other and a new threat in Gotham when they get some help from Sunnydale. Can Xander's friends accept Harley? And can Harley finally cut ties with the Joker, once and for all.


**Three of a Kind**

By Paradox761

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.

Summary: Sequel to "Two of a Kind", Xander and Harley are dealing with their feelings for each other and a new threat in Gotham when they get some help from Sunnydale. Can Xander's friends accept Harley? And can Harley finally cut ties with the Joker, once and for all.

Dedication: For Helen, my muse, and the Harley to my Xander.

(BtVS/DC, Xander/Harley)

Xander was a small town California boy, and life in Gotham City was about as far as one could get from that and still be in the same hemisphere. For one thing, it rained a lot. It had probably rained more in the two months that he'd been in Gotham than in his entire childhood in Sunnydale. Sometimes it was nice, lying in bed with Harley at night, listening to the rain on the roof, it was romantic. But trudging through dark alleys in the dark, soaked to the bone, looking for vampires, was most especially not nice. Point of fact, it sucked.

When Xander and Harley patrolled at night, they mostly stayed together. Sometimes they split up to cover more ground if they wanted to finish quicker, and that's exactly what they were doing now. Xander wanted nothing more than to finish the next two blocks as quickly as possible and head back to the loft where he could be dry and warm again. Unfortunately, there was a trio of vampires at the end of the alley that had other ideas.

Xander wore a long black trench coat, which he always wore on patrol because it was easy to conceal weapons in it. He had also taken to wearing a fedora to keep the rain off of his face. Currently he was walking with his hands in his pockets, the collar of his coat turned up and his head down. He looked like any other business man making his way through the rain, but he was deceptively alert and aware. His hands both clutched stakes in his pockets, and his eyes and ears were open to everything around him. He had spotted the bloodsuckers and he gripped his stakes tighter as he walked closer to them, seemingly oblivious.

The first stepped out behind a dumpster and blocked Xander's path, a smile on his face. Xander saw the red rose pin on his jacket and the tattoo on his forearm that read 'BRR-4-EVER', and he knew immediately what he was dealing with. He would need to be quick and use the element of surprise if he was going to survive this encounter.

"Where you going tonight, pally," the vamp said, laughing at himself. His cronies laughed too.

"Please, don't hurt me," Xander said, taking a step back, drawing him in. "I have money."

They laughed again. "We ain't interested in your money," he said.

Xander kept his head down and took another step back. When the vamp stepped toward him again, he pulled his hands from his pockets and lunged with a stake. The lead vamp had just enough time to look down at the piece of wood sticking out of his chest and look surprised before he exploded into dust. Xander stepped back and took up a fighting stance, the two stakes still in his hands. He picked up his head and saw the other two vamps freaking out.

"He killed Lewis!"

"Shit, it's the eye-patch guy! Get him, Martin!"

"I'm going to rip his damn throat out!"

They came at him at once, game faces on. He ducked to the side and when they both turned to go for him, they ran into each other. Xander used the momentary confusion to lash out with his foot and trip the closest one. He fell to the ground, nearly taking the other one with him. Xander moved in and staked the one of the ground as quick as he could. The bloodsucker disappeared into dust, but Xander wasn't fast enough to avoid the other one. He grabbed Xander by the front of his shirt and lifted him off of his feet. Then he slammed him against the brick wall on the side of the alley. The stakes in Xander's hands clattered to the ground.

The creature's face was inches from Xander's, its fetid breath making him gag. He smiled with a mouth full of jagged, yellow teeth. "I got you now, eye-patch guy," he said, laughing insanely. "No more tricks, no more last second saves, this is the end of the line for you."

"You sure about that?" Xander grunted.

"If you think the Bat's going to come save you, you got another thing coming."

"Not the Bat," Xander said. "Just her," he said, motioning behind the vampire with his head.

He laughed again. "How stupid do you think I am? I'm not going to fall…" The rest of his sentence was cut off as he was suddenly yanked off of Xander and sent flying across the alley. He rolled to a stop and turned back to look up. Standing in front of him was a lithe blonde, hair in pig tails, wearing black and red leather pants and matching halter, white makeup and red lipstick, carrying a wicked looking fire axe.

"That's my boyfriend you're messing with, blood for brains," she quipped. The vampire didn't have time to reply before she swung the axe and separated his head from his neck.

Xander retrieved his fallen stakes as well as his hat. Shaking the water off of hit he replaced it back on his head.

"You all right?" Harley asked.

"Never better," he said, stretching out his back. "I think he got that knot out of my back. Wish I could thank him."

Harley smiled. "Were they…"

"Blood Red Rose gang," Xander finished for her. "Yup."

"Damn, how many of these guys do I have to kill?" she asked rhetorically.

"Somebody keeps making more," Xander said. They were a vampire street gang, started showing up around a month before. Whether they were a group of vampires that formed a gang, or a gang that became vampires, Xander wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that they were becoming a bigger problem than just he and Harley could handle.

"It's because of me, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Because I got called. Because I'm fighting them now, that's why they're getting organized. I'm actually making things worse."

"No," Xander said. "You're kicking ass and taking names, you've got them on the ropes, they're getting desperate. This is a game of inches. It's the fourth quarter, you're running out the clock and they're in their two minute drill. This is a hail Mary."

"I don't watch baseball, I have no idea what you're talking about," Harley said. Xander laughed, despite himself. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to call for backup."

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The phone only rang twice before it was picked up and a voice answered. "Hello."

"Giles, hey, it's Xander."

"Xander, it's good to hear from you."

"Is now a good time, I'm not interrupting the next apocalypse or anything, am I?"

"No, no, nothing quite that exciting. I'm afraid it's business as usual here. How are things in Gotham?"

"Oh, you know, never a dull moment."

"And how's that slayer of yours coming along?"

"She's doing great, she's a natural. How are the girls doing?"

"They're well. Of course, you can always call and ask them yourself."

"I know, I know, I've been meaning to, things have just been so…busy here."

"Right. So I assume that this isn't purely a social call."

"Well, not exactly."

"Xander, there's no reason to be embarrassed. If you need help with something, all you have to do is ask. This is what the Watcher's council is for. It isn't going to reflect badly on your performance as a Watcher, you have one slayer covering a major metropolitan city, no one is expecting you to perform miracles."

Xander let out a sigh. "I appreciate that Giles, thank you."

"So, tell me what's going on."

"About a month ago we noticed that we were running into more vampires than normal, and they were acting strangely. They were hyper, twitchy, almost like they were on drugs or something. They were almost all gang members, so at first I thought maybe they were just partaking of their old human habits. Except…"

"Vampires aren't affected by most street drugs."

"Exactly. What we did realize is that not only were they all gangbangers, they were from the same gang, and they're still operating as a gang. They call themselves the Blood Red Roses."

"Evocative."

"I've never seen vamps this organized before, Giles. Not unless they've got something bigger behind them running the show, that's what worries me."

"Could this just be a case where one gang member got turned and decided to turn his compatriots?"

"I don't think so. We've killed so many of these guys over the last few weeks, but they just keep coming. I think they're keeping tabs on us, or…I don't know, testing us. They know Harley, which isn't that much of a surprise, she's been making a name for herself lately. But they know me too, and they always call me the same thing, the eye-patch guy. And since all the ones that we've run across we've killed…"

"They're watching you," Giles finished. He sighed, Xander could almost hear him polishing his glasses over the phone. "Vampire street gangs, that's a new one, I'll give you that. I'll have our research department look into it and see what they can come up with on these Blood Red Roses."

"And by research department, you mean Dawn."

"Well…yes. But it sounds more officious when I say research department, she likes it." Xander chuckled. "In the meantime I think we can spare some slayer assistance as well. I believe Buffy may be…"

"No!" Xander said a little too quickly. "I mean, we don't need to bother her with this, I'm sure she has more important things to worry about."

"Well, all right," Giles answered, clearly detecting that there was something Xander didn't want to disclose but deciding not to push the issue. "Was there someone that you had in mind?"

"Well, with Gotham being an urban environment and all, I was thinking someone with more street experience. Faith, maybe."

"Faith is available, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting out of the house for a while. I can bring it up with her as soon as she's back from patrol."

"Great. Thanks again Giles, I really appreciate this."

"Not at all. As I said, this is what the Council is for. And if we're to be effective, we need to have a strong support system in place for our field Watchers. I know that a lot of this is new to you, Xander. A lot of it is new to me as well, being on this side of things. But rebuilding the Council is important, and even more important is making sure that we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. I'm determined that the primary goal of this Council is going to be helping the slayers, not just using them as disposable tools. That's why it's important to have Watchers like you in the field, men not just with great experience and ability, but also with great heart. You're the future of the Watchers, Xander. And I can't think of anyone better suited for the task."

"Wow, Giles…I don't know what to say. Thank you, that means a lot to me coming from you. I just hope that I can live up to your example."

"Well, I meant every word of it. Maybe it's my advancing age talking, but Buffy, Willow, Dawn and yourself have come to mean a great deal to me, and I just…want to make sure that you all know how I feel."

"We know, Giles. We've always known. Actions speak louder than words, and you've always been there for us, for all of us."

"I appreciate that Xander, thank you. And I hope that you don't think that I'm getting too personal or that I'm meddling, but it's only out of my concern for you all that I'm asking. Is everything all right between you and Buffy and Willow? They've been concerned lately and the less they hear from you the more concerned they get. They feel like…you're pushing them away."

Xander sighed. "That's not my intention, it's just…" he trailed off, trying to find the words. "I know that they worry about me, and in the past that usually leads to them trying to keep me out of danger and, well, push me away. I love them both very much, and I know that they're only worried about me because they care about me too, but it's hard. I feel like I've worked so hard, and I feel like they don't see that. They still see that goofy kid from high school that never took anything seriously. And if I have to have one more conversation with either of them where they're talking to me like I'm a child, I feel like I'm going to scream. And that's just going to drive a bigger wedge between us and I don't want to do that."

"I see. Well, have you tried talking to them about this?"

"I've tried telling them that I'm fine and that they don't need to worry about me so much, but it doesn't seem to help."

"Well, I think you need to tell them how this makes you feel. They care about you Xander, they'll understand. If you give them a chance they might surprise you."

Xander paused, thinking. "I hope you're right, Giles. The two of them mean so much to me, and I don't want to lose that."

"The combined forces of Hell haven't been able to drive the three of you apart, I don't think anything ever will. Certainly not this."

"Thanks Giles. I'll talk to them about it."

"Good. In the meantime I'll let you know as soon as I talk with Faith so you'll know when to expect her, and I'll let you know if Dawn is able to turn anything up on this gang of yours."

"Great. And I'll keep you up to date on what's going on here. Talk to you later."

"Goodbye, Xander."

Xander hung up and put his phone down on the coffee table. He leaned back on the couch where he was sitting and put his head back and closed his eyes. He wasn't as sure as Giles was that talking to Buffy and Willow would go smoothly and he was worried about it. He heard Harley coming down the stairs and opened his eyes her see her standing behind him. She was still wearing her clothes from patrol but she had washed off her makeup.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yup," Xander answered. "Giles is going to have Dawn research the Blood Red Roses for us and Faith is going to come down to help us out for a bit until we get this squared away. I figured she could stay here since there's plenty of space, if that's okay with you."

"Sure," she said. Her tone seemed distant and though he was still looking at her upside down, he could tell by her expression that something was bothering her.

"Everything okay with you?" he asked.

"I just…I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but…slayer hearing and all, I couldn't really help it."

"Oh," Xander said. "That's okay, I don't have any secrets from you."

"But it seems like you have some from your friends."

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to know, is it because of me that you don't want to talk to Buffy or Willow? I mean, do you not want to tell them about me? Are you…ashamed?"

Xander's head shot up and turned to face her. "Harley, no. Never." He reached out a hand to her and she took it and let him pull her onto his lap. "Please don't think that, I could never be ashamed of you. I'm proud of you, as a slayer and as a person."

"But you haven't told them about me. About…us."

"When I talked to Giles the first time about me staying in Gotham, I told him about you. I told him that you had a troubled past and that I felt like you needed help. I didn't tell him exactly who you were because I felt like that was still private, and that it should be your decision if or when you wanted to talk about your past with them.

"And as for Buffy and Willow, no I haven't told them about us yet, but that's not because of you. They can be a bit…overprotective of me. And as much as I love them, they can be a bit judgmental sometimes too. I don't want them to get the wrong idea about what I'm doing here. I just felt like, when the time was right, I would introduce you to them and let them meet you first. Let them see how amazing you are, so they don't get the chance to say or do something stupid."

"Do you really think they'll like me?"

"Absolutely," Xander answered. "If there's anything that we've all learned since the activation spell it's that slayers can come from anywhere, any country, any social class, all walks of life. But they all have the potential to be something special. I think Giles was probably right, I just have to give Buffy and Willow a chance." Harley laid her head down on Xander's chest and wrapped her arms around him. "Now Faith on the other hand, I don't think she's going to like you."

Harley popped up again. "You don't?"

Xander smiled. "She's going to love you."

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Two nights later, just as the sun was setting, Xander and Harley were standing outside of the loft when an electric purple Honda sport bike pulled up in front of them. Xander had a wide smile on his face as the rider put the kickstand down and took off her helmet. "Faith the vampire slayer, as I live and breathe."

Faith smiled back as she got off of the Bike. "Nice hat, you look like Humphrey Bogart," she said, giving him a hug. Then she punched in in the arm.

"OW!" Cried out, rubbing the spot on his bicep.

"What's a matter you, huh? You don't call, you don't write? You make you poor mother sick with worry!" she said in a bad Italian accent, then she laughed. "Sorry, Little D stole my bike key and wouldn't give it back until I promised to do that."

Xander laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like something Dawn would do. Message received, I'm going to call. So how are things in Cleveland?"

"Boring, unless you count teen drama as excitement. I swear, it feels like I'm living in a rerun of One Tree Hill. When Giles said you needed help here I couldn't say yes fast enough."

"I appreciate that. I thought he would have gotten you a plane ticket though, did you have to ride your bike all the way from Cleveland? It must have taken you nine or ten hours."

"Not the way I drive," she said with a sly smile. "Giles offered to fly me, but between the choice of being stuffed between two fat guys in coach for a couple hours or the open road with that beautiful machine between my legs, you can guess what I picked."

"Speaking of a massive tool between your legs, how's Robin?"

"Funny."

"I thought so. So did Giles brief you?"

"Yup, vampire gang bangers, sounds like fun. Little D also told me to tell you that she hasn't found anything about this Blood Red Rose gang. Up until a month ago, they didn't exist."

"I was afraid of that. Doesn't give us much to go on."

"Other than the fact that they seem to have a massive hard on for you and your slayer. Speaking of which, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Of course, where are my manners? Faith LeHane, this is Harley Quinn. Harley, Faith."

Faith reached out and the two women shook hands. "Nice to meet you, I've heard good things."

"Same," Harley replied.

"I like the outfit. You have to do something to stand out in a town like this, right? Grown men dressed as bats, fighting with clowns, makes killing the undead seem normal."

"Tell me about it," Harley said with a giggle. Turning to Xander, under her breath, she said, "She doesn't know who I am, does she?"

"She doesn't really watch the news," Xander whispered back.

"So you're the Watcher type here, how do you want to play this?" Faith asked.

"Well, I think it's clear that these guys are targeting us. It's a safe bet then that they've got somebody watching these little ambushes that they're setting up. I think that Harley and I should go on our normal patrol and have you hang back and keep an eye on us from a distance, maybe from the rooftops. See if you can spot anyone watching us, then follow them back to whatever hole they crawled out of and hope they lead us to whoever or whatever is behind all of this."

"Sounds like a plan. I got your back, X. I just hope you can concentrate on the task at hand and you're not distracted by thoughts of Robin's massive tool," Faith said with a smile.

"What?! No, I didn't…I meant that he *was* a massive tool, not that he *has* a…oh god!"

"Your picturing it now, aren't you?" Faith snickered. Harley laughed. "Don't worry about it, X. All things considered, between you and Robin, you measure up just fine."

"That's more than I needed to know," Xander said, turning up the collar on his coat. "Let's get going."

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Patrol that night was uneventful, no run-ins with the Blood Red Roses. Whether they were still watching or not, Xander wasn't sure. Faith hadn't spotted anything, and when they returned to the loft that night, she was restless.

"Hardly any action tonight," she lamented.

"That's not the way it usually is," Harley said.

Xander agreed. "I wonder if they spotted our little trap."

"I don't think so," Faith said. "If any of them were close, I would have felt them."

"That worries me more," Xander said.

"Why's that?" Harley asked.

"Well, if they are keeping tabs on us because they're planning something big, this could mean that they're close to doing it. If we don't get a line on them soon, it might be too late."

"Any local snitches we can lean on?" Faith asked.

"I haven't been in town long enough to have any contacts like that. What about you, Harley? Do you know anybody with their ear to the ground that could help us?"

"Maybe," Harley said. "I'll have to think about it. There has to be somebody that knows something."

The group entered the loft and Xander and Harley started putting their weapons away while Faith took a seat on the couch. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go wash off this makeup," Harley said, heading to the bathroom. Xander took a seat on the couch next to Faith.

"Nice setup you've got here, X," Faith said. "Plenty of room to train, nice equipment, close to the action."

"Yeah, it's worked really well for us so far."

"So, how long have you and Harley been getting it on?"

"What?"

"You know, the mattress mambo, making the beast with two backs, riding the bologna…"

"Okay, Faith, I get the idea," Xander interrupted.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm not one to judge. Just curious is all."

Xander considered denying it but then realized that there would be no point. He sighed. "About a month ago, Harley and I realized that our feelings for each other had…evolved. Are you going to tell Giles?"

Faith shook her head. "None of my business. Giles did tell me that he was concerned, said that he thought you might be hiding something, that there was a reason that you didn't want Buffy here. He asked me to make sure everything was okay. As far as I'm concerned everything is fine."

"It's just…I know Giles wouldn't approve, a Watcher and a slayer. And Buffy and Willow can be…I just don't want them to get the wrong idea. This thing with me and Harley is still new, and I'm just…not ready to share it right now."

"I think I get it. You're worried that B is going to get all self-righteous, and Red is going to get all overprotective, and they'll say something messed up and then you'll get mad and say something messed up, and then nobody's talking to each other."

"That's about the size of it, yeah."

"Speaking as someone who has been at the business end of that before, I say don't worry about it. Buffy has calmed down considerably since those days. And even if that does happen, so what. You guys will work through it, you always do. But you have to give them a chance. You can't just assume they'll react badly and never talk about it."

"Giles said pretty much the same thing."

"Smart man," Faith said, rising from the couch and heading into the kitchen area. "You guys got any beer?" she asked, opening the fridge.

"Bottom drawer," Harley said, coming out of the bathroom. She walked over to the couch and sat down on Xander's lap, giving him a kiss.

"Slayer hearing?" Xander asked. Harley just nodded and Xander nodded back.

Faith laughed as she walked back into the living room area with three beers. Setting two down on the coffee table in front of Xander and Harley, she popped the third and took a seat in the chair opposite them. "You sure know how to pick 'em, X," she snickered. "How many slayers does this make for you now?"

Harley laughed with a mock-horrified look on her face. "All the slayers that I've been with are in this room," Xander said vaguely.

Faith laughed. "Slick, but I don't think that's going to fool her," Faith said.

"You mean, you and Faith?" Harley asked.

"I was his first," Faith said, taking a pull from her beer. "Steered him around the curves."

"Ancient history," Xander said.

"Yeah, after I tried to kill you that kind of put the kybosh on anything that we might have had. Shame though, could have been nice."

"After she tried to what?"

"More ancient history. I told you that you weren't the only slayer with a questionable past."

"Yeah, you don't have anything to worry about, Blondie. What I've done makes hanging around with the Joker look like a shoplifting charge."

Xander and Harley's mouths both dropped open. "So you do know who I am?" Harley asked.

"Sure I do, I was just messing around before. You're hard to miss in that outfit. And X, I wasn't just talking about the slayers you've bumped uglies with. Didn't you have a huge crush on Buffy for like, years?"

Xander decided that it was a good time to open his own beer. He was going to need it for this conversation.

"Really?" Harley asked, looking immensely amused.

"Jurassic history," Xander said.

"Still, says something, doesn't it," Faith said. "That you have a thing for women that can kick your ass." She and Harley both laughed.

"If it says anything, it just means that I have good taste, that's all," Xander defended. "Or that I'm attracted to strong, independent, spirited women. I mean, look at Cordelia, look at…Anya." The jovial demeanor in the room seemed to diminish as Xander got quiet and thoughtful. He took a long sip from his beer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Faith started. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's okay. I can talk about it, it's been…wow, almost a year now, hasn't it," Xander said. "It was hard in the beginning, especially being in a new city and with everyone so busy setting up the new Council and training the new slayers. I just felt…really alone. But Buffy and Willow tried to make time for me, and Giles got me involved with the Council and kept me busy, and I'll always appreciate what they did for me then. For a while things were normal again, but there was always this empty place inside of me. I thought it was Anya, and part of it was, but it was also everything else that I had lost over the years. Friends, people I loved, Sunnydale, my childhood innocence. I felt like I was mourning for all of that." He turned and looked at Harley. "And then I came to Gotham and I met you. And I'm not going to say that everything was instantly better, but I started to feel that empty place inside of me filling up. I felt like I had purpose again, and I wasn't just…an empty shell, stumbling through life, going through the motions. I was living again." Harley looked like she was starting to tear up. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you."

She pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight. "Oh, Xander. I feel exactly the same way," she said.

Xander smiled and hugged her back. After a few seconds his face started to turn red. "Ok, oxygen becoming an issue," he hissed out.

Harley pulled away quickly. Xander smiled to let her know that he was okay, and reached out and stroked her face.

Faith smiled and held up her bottle. "To old friends who've left us, may we see them again someday," she said. "And to new friends," she added, looking at Harley.

Harley picked up her own bottle. "I'll drink to that."

"Me too," Xander said as the three of them clinked bottles.

They spent the rest of the night talking and laughing, telling stories and looking back on old memories. And when they talked about someone whom they had lost, they didn't mourn for them. They celebrated them.

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The next day Xander picked up his phone and called Cleveland again. This time it rang three times before a female voice answered. "Hello."

"Hi Dawn, it's Xander."

"Xander who? I don't think I know anyone named Xander."

"Cute."

"Actually, I think I remember a Xander. He used to go to Indians games with me yell lines from Major League. But I think he fell off the face of the Earth, so you can't be him."

"OK, I deserve it, keep it coming."

"I mean, he must have, right? Because the Xander that I knew, he wouldn't just ignore me for months at a time and pretend that I don't exist, that's just not the kind of guy that he was. No phone calls, no texts, no email. So something really horrible must have happened to him, don't you think?"

"Are you done?"

"No!"

"Okay, Dawn. You're right, I'm sorry. There's no excuse, I've been acting like and ass and I humbly beg you for forgiveness. I've just been going through some stuff, some self-discovery, Tony Robbins type shit. And we can talk about it later if you want to, but the important thing is that I've come to a realization about what's important in my life and the kind of man that I want to be, and I want to let you know that I love you. You're one of the most important people in my life and you're an amazing woman, and I wanted to tell you that. So, I really hope that you can forgive me."

"Well…I don't know. I was pretty mad, but now I'm actually kind of crying a little because I love you too, you big jerk. Okay, I forgive you. But you totally owe me big for this."

"Two words. Stun gun."

"Okay, we're even. So what's Gotham City like?"

Xander laughed. "It's…kind of indescribable. It's like a city out of time, medieval and futuristic at the same time. Sometimes it can be scarier than my scariest days in Sunnydale, and sometimes it can be majestic and…awe-inspiring."

"Sounds exciting."

"Oh, it's definitely that. How are things in Cleveland?"

"The opposite of exciting. Buffy won't let me patrol with the slayers, I'm just stuck in this house with a bunch of musty old books for company. I'm practically Rapunzel. I'm thinking of growing my hair super long in protest."

Xander laughed again. "But you're Research Gal now, right? Integral part of the team, saving the day from behind the scenes."

"I guess so. I'm just tired of being behind the scenes. I want to save the day from in front of the scenes, like you."

"Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Liar. So, what's your new slayer like."

"You'd like her, she's got a lot of spirit. She's got the vamps in this town running scared."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to find anything on that gang. I wish I could have been more help."

"It was helpful. It tells us that they formed after they were turned. And since vampires don't usually do that sort of thing, it tells us that there's something else behind this. It's a place to start."

"Not much of a place."

"Well, that's another reason why I'm calling. I was hoping that you could help me find some place in Gotham where I can get more information. A demon hang-out or something. The Watchers used to keep track of stuff like that, didn't they?"

"They did but I'm not sure how much info they would have on Gotham. I'll look into it though and let you know."

"Much appreciated, thank you."

"So, have you talked to Buffy or Willow yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to say to them."

"They're upset, but don't let them intimidate you. If they start talking about going to Gotham to bring you back, it's all bluster. They've already talked to Giles about it and he shut them down. He's got your back, and so do I."

"I know you do, Dawn."

"The truth is, they really do want to know what's going on with you, so they'll listen. They know how hard this last year has been for you."

"It's been hard for all of us."

"Are you going to come see us soon?"

"I hope so. I'd like to introduce Harley to everyone. But I don't know how long Gotham plans on holding us here."

"You make it sound like the city itself has something against you guys."

"Sometimes I think it does."

"Take care of yourself, Xander."

"You too, Dawn. See you soon."

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The Pit was a demon bar on the outskirts of the industrial district. Dark and dank, it made Willy's Alibi Room look like a TGI Fridays. It was the kind of place where vampires played poker for kittens, and if a human walked in, they were likely to be on the menu that night. Unless of course those humans happened to be slayers.

Harley and Faith stepped into the bar and everything stopped. Everyone turned to stare at them. "If this were a movie I think we would have just heard a record scratch," Faith said. The odd assortment of vampires and demons stared a moment longer. Some looked scared, most were just annoyed. Then one by one they all started standing up and filing out of the room. "Was it something I said?" Faith asked the crowd as they passed the pair of slayers. Nobody answered.

"Should we try to stop them or something?" Harley asked.

"Nah, we don't want to start something here that we can't get out of. Besides, that's generally not a good way to get any information. Start with the sweet stuff first, then if that doesn't work we get violent."

"So, what do we do if there's nobody to get information from?"

"I'm willing to bet at least someone is going to stay. Somebody has to be running this place."

Sure enough just as the room was almost empty, a rotund figure came out from the back room and walked behind the bar. "Hey, where's everybody going?" he called out. Faith and Harley headed for the bar and when he spotted them, his face fell. "Oh."

"What's shaking, tubby?" Faith asked, taking a seat on a barstool. "Besides your man boobs."

To his credit the heavyset vampire didn't bat an eye. "Do you know how long it took me to get this place up and running? Do you know how hard it is to stay off the Bat's radar in this town? And then you become a slayer," he said, motioning to Harley. "And now there's two slayers! Nobody's going to set foot in here ever again!"

Faith waved a hand dismissively. "Couple of weeks and they'll all forget about it."

The bartender ignored her, turning his attention to Harley. "I didn't believe it at first until I seen it with my own eyes. Harley Quinn hung up her clown shoes and became a white hat. There's a pool you know, on how long it'll take for you to go back to the dark side. Nobody in this town ever stays straight for long. I gotta say though, you've lasted longer than I ever thought you would."

"Things are different now," Harley said.

"Yeah, you're a slayer, I know. That doesn't mean anything. You don't have to throw in with this lot just because of that, you know. You could run this town, and not even Batman himself could stop you. So why don't you?"

"Things aren't just different because I'm a slayer, *I'm* different," Harley said.

"Is that what they're selling you? Let me tell you something, there's nothing but chumps in the hero business. It's a never-ending, never-winning battle. Evil is just going to keep on keeping on, no matter what you do, so why bother? You got to look out for number one in this world, or you're never going to get anywhere."

"Alright, that's enough," Faith said. "Let's get down to business."

"I'm not telling you squat," the bartender said.

"Come on, tubby. You look like you've been around long enough to know how this works. I ask nice, then I ask not so nice, then I threaten to rearrange your internal organs, then you tell us what we want to know. So why don't we skip all the pleasantries and get to it."

"What's in it for me?"

"Like I said, in a couple weeks your customers will all forget we were ever here. But if you don't cooperate, we're going to be back. Again, and again, and again, and your days of selling watered down cow's blood are going to be over."

The bartender growled under his breath. "Fine. What do you want?"

"The Blood Red Roses," Faith said.

"Those idiots? Why didn't you just say so, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about them. I'm trying to run a nice quiet place here, not call any attention to myself. Those wackos come in, yelling and screaming like it's Mardi Gras. You get rid of them for me and you'll have a friend for life. So to speak."

"What can you tell us?"

"Newbies, fresh out of the grave as it were. Mostly ex-gangbangers and bikers, some low level thugs."

"Who's running the show?"

"That I don't know, but whoever it is they've got some kind of control on these guys. From what I've heard, you and that watcher of yours have been cutting them down like flies, but they just keep making more. It's like they don't even care. They don't operate like any gang I've ever seen, they're not running protection rackets or gambling or anything like that. Near as I can tell, they've done a few low level jobs, but their main purpose seems to be giving you a hard time," he said, pointing at Harley. "Which is why most of the others around here tolerate them, even if they are irritating as hell. Always laughing and carrying on."

"What about a hierarchy?" Faith asked. "Any of them that come in here look like they're in charge, lieutenants maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe. There's a couple of guys, Bud and Lou. They're not like the others, middle aged looking. I think they were old school thugs when they were human. I've seen them giving orders sometimes."

Harley's eyes widened. "Did you say Bud and Lou? Is Bud tall with a scar on his chin, and Lou short and fat, wears an ugly checked jacket all the time and stammers when he talks?"

"Replace stammers with giggles and yeah, that's them all right."

Harley's face seemed to go ashen, even through the clown white. "What is it?" Faith asked.

"I know who it is. Damn it, it all makes sense now! They were never after me, they were after Xander! Come on, we have to go, we have to go now. Xander's in danger!"

The two of them ran out of the bar, leaving the hefty bartender behind without a second glance. "You're welcome!" he called out behind them. Then he shook his head and shrugged to himself. "Slayers."

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Xander was sitting alone on the couch in the living room area of the loft, looking over the information that Dawn had sent him on the local vampire haunts in Gotham. They already had a few good leads and Faith and Harley were out checking on them. Xander had wanted to go with them but both slayers had agreed that he would be safer staying behind. Xander understood. It was one thing to patrol and to be able to deal with trouble when he found it, but to march into a den of snakes was quite another. He didn't want Faith and Harley worrying about him when they should be worrying about themselves, so he stayed behind. He tried to keep himself occupied so he wouldn't worry about them, but he couldn't help it. Things were becoming serious between him and Harley, and Faith had helped him to see that he didn't need to worry so much about what the others would think about that. They were his friends, he trusted them with his life, he could trust them to be respectful of his thoughts and feelings. He felt eager to talk to them now, to see them again, to introduce them to Harley. He was feeling good about things, about his life. He was, daresay, happy. He should have known, he would think later, that the universe wasn't going to tolerate that for long. He didn't hear the door opening, or footsteps. His first indication that he wasn't alone was the loud, exuberant voice of the Joker.

"I love what you've done with the place!"

Xander jumped up so fast that he almost tripped over the coffee table. He spun around and found himself standing six feet away from the clown prince of crime himself. He wore his standard purple suit with a coat over it and a hat. Xander had seen pictures of the man before but seeing him in person was a much different experience. He was at once jovial and menacing. That permanent smile etched onto his face held the promise of an unhinged, devious mind. For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. Xander was at a loss as to what to say. The Joker however, wasn't.

"It's industrial meets medieval," Joker said, motioning toward the training area where there were weapons hanging on the wall. "And yet it's homey. The perfect place to shack up with another man's girl," he said, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. "But then again, I suppose I should be thanking you. If it hadn't been for you, I never would have known what Harley was and I never would have known about these vampires. Interesting creatures, don't you think? So powerful, and yet so easy to manipulate. I found myself wondering what would happen if I exposed one to my Joker gas, patent pending. With humans the gas causes euphoria and uncontrolled laughter, right before their heart explodes. But vampires are already dead, so they don't have to worry about that little pesky side effect. All it takes is one little sniff from my flower here, and they're hooked. They'll do anything to get more."

Xander looked at the flower on the Joker's lapel and realized that it wasn't a carnation or a posey, it was a rose. A blood red rose. "You," he said. "You're the one behind all this."

"Bright boy, aren't you. I never let Harley get too far without keeping an eye on her. And when you showed up with all this talk about slayers and vampires and demons, I was intrigued. So I decided to let things play out. What I didn't expect was that she would betray me so readily. But, I'm a forgiving sort so I've decided to let her back into my good graces." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pistol. "You on the other hand, I'm going to kill. You never rub another man's rhubarb, son," he said with a laugh, cocking the pistol and taking aim.

Xander thought he was dead. There was no time to react, no weapon in reach, no time for a plan. This was it, the end. All he could think about were his regrets. That he had left things unsettled with Buffy and Willow, that he hadn't gotten the chance to tell Harley…how he really felt. He closed his eye and waited for the shot, but it never came.

"You know, maybe I'm going about this all wrong," the Joker said suddenly. Xander opened his eye and saw the Joker waving the gun around absently in the air, lost in thought. "I mean, shooting you here and now, what does that accomplish? It just makes me look small and petty. There's no style to it, no statement. It's not an act that befits the clown prince of crime, no! It needs to be grander, it needs to send a message." He was smiling again now and Xander felt his mouth go very dry. "I'll have you turned. Then I'll give you some of the old laughing gas. And then when I have you on your knees, begging me for more of it, I'll stake you myself, with Harley watching. To show her the error of her ways. She'll never dare leave me again after that, don't you think?"

Xander's blood started to boil. He didn't care anymore what happened to him, but he wasn't going to let this madman take Harley again. He couldn't. He started toward him but the Joker raised his gun and Xander stopped.

"Not so fast. Don't rush the ending now, the story is just starting to get good," Joker said. Xander gritted his teeth and scowled. "It's a funny thing about vampires, that they can't enter a dwelling unless they've been invited. I suppose in a way it's the only thing keeping them from taking over the world. You probably think that that makes you safe here in your little love nest. But this place was mine long before it was yours, and guess whose name is still on the lease." Xander's eyes widened. "Well, it's not my actual name, that would be pretty stupid. It's a fake name, but that's not the point! The point is, this place is still mine. Come on in, boys!" he called out. "You're all invited in."

Xander watched as one by one, vampires walked in and filled the room.

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Harley clung to Faith on the back of her motorcycle as the elder slayer maneuvered it through the streets at a suicidal speed. "Are you saying that the Joker is a vampire?" Faith asked.

"No, no, he wouldn't do that. I know it sounds weird, but he would consider that cheating. But he's not above putting together a gang of them to do his bidding. Bud and Lou were henchmen that we used to use a lot. Loyal, but not too bright. He probably had them turned to see what would happen. And the laughing, the reason they were always laughing, it's got to be the Joker gas. That's how he's controlling them. This is all my fault, how could I have been so blind?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Joker is insane, and he's insanely jealous. I've seen him maim guys just for looking at me. But he didn't know what I was, he didn't know what Xander was. That's why he sent them after us, to test us. To spy on us and report back. And if he's spying on us…"

"Then he knows that Xander is alone right now," Faith finished. She revved the engine a little more and picked up speed.

"He's going to kill him, and it's all my fault."

"He's not going to kill him," Faith said. "Because we're going to stop him."

They arrived at the loft in short order. Faith parked the bike and the two slayers headed inside the building. Harley's mind was racing a mile a minute. She was worried for Xander but she was mostly angry. Angry at the Joker for doing this, for coming after her and Xander. But more than that, she was angry at him for manipulating her for so long, and she was angry at herself for letting him do it. She had put Xander in danger because she was too weak to leave Gotham, too afraid of what would happen if she was away from the Joker. If something happened to him now because of that, she would never forgive herself.

The two of them got to the front door and burst in, ready for anything. But what they found was still shocking. At least three dozen vampires, all wearing roses or pins or something that identified then as Blood Red Roses. All of them smiling with insane glee. And at the front of the room stood the Joker. And next to him, on his knees with his arms tied behind his back was Xander. And behind Xander stood Bud and Lou, game faces on.

"Harley," the Joker said warmly. "Nice of you to join us, the party is just getting started."

"The party's over you psychotic freak!" Faith spat.

"Ooh, mouthy, isn't she?" Joker said. "Look around sweetheart, slayer or no, the odds aren't exactly in your favor."

"What do you want?" Harley asked stoically

"Harley, my dear, I just want us to be happy again. Our little family just isn't the same without you. So I've decided to forgive you, and to welcome you back into my loving arms. But first, I need to make sure that you've learned your lesson. And poor Xander here needs to learn his place."

"If you hurt him, I *will* kill you," Harley said. "I promise you that."

"Harley, how could you say such a thing? I'm doing this for us my dear, so we can be together again."

"There is no us, Jack," she said, using his real name. "Not anymore, and there never will be again. I finally realized something that I should have a long time ago. I don't need you. I'm strong without you, and I'm not going to let you control me anymore. It's over."

The Joker looked genuinely surprised, and maybe even a little saddened. "I'm sorry to hear that Harley, I really am. But of course you know that if I can't have you, no one will. Bud, would you do the honors please."

The tall vampire took Xander by the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. He opened his mouth, bared his fangs and was descending onto Xander's neck when there was a sudden thunk noise. The vampire's head shot backwards and he staggered back on his feet. Everyone looked at Bud, who now suddenly had a batarang sticking out of his forehead. "What the…" Bud started. A small light on the batarang started blinking and it started beeping. Then the beeping got faster. "Oh no." It exploded, taking Bud's head with it. The headless body disintegrated into dust a moment later.

All eyes looked up at the caped figure hanging from the second floor window. "Batman!" the Joker shouted with a smile. "Now this really is a party! Kill them, kill them all!" And with that, Batman jumped down into the crowd of vampires, and all hell broke loose.

"You're really screwed now, Joker," Xander said.

"I don't know if you've noticed or not Eye-Patch Guy, but your people are outnumbered ten to one," Joker responded.

Xander just smiled. "All that time you had your guys trailing us, and you still don't know anything about slayers."

Joker reached into his jacket but Xander lunged at him before he could pull his gun and head-butted him, knocking him off balance and to the ground. By the time he got back to his feet, Xander was gone.

Xander was trying to make his way through the melee to the weapons cabinet on the other side of the room. His hands were still bound behind his back and he wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there, but he knew that if he was going to go down tonight, he was going to go down swinging. He caught glimpses of Faith and Harley in the fight, cutting through vampires like they were swatting flies. Harley with her axe, Faith just had a stake. Batman moved like a ghost, one second he was there and the next he was gone only to reappear somewhere else. He couldn't see exactly what the caped crusader was using, but the vamps that came up against him were quickly turning to dust. Then suddenly Batman was right behind him, and Xander realized that his hands were free, the rope binding them had been cut. He was about to thank him, but he was gone again.

Xander made it to the weapons cabinet and pulled out a sword. When he turned back he realized that the vampires' numbers had already been halved. He looked for the Joker and he saw him on the floor, crawling toward the door. He made his way over to him, slicing through a couple of vampires along the way. When he got there he delivered a kick to the clown's midsection, flipping him onto his back. Joker reached for his gun again, Xander swung with his sword and knocked it out of his hand, cutting a gash into his forearm in the process. Joker got to his feet and scrambled away again into the chaos. Xander decided to stay by the door to make sure that he couldn't sneak away again.

Harley had decapitated one vampire and was prying her axe out of the chest of another when she turned and came face to face with the Joker. For the first time since she had known him, he looked afraid of her. All she could think of was Xander, how he had looked on his knees with the Joker standing over him, about to die. And she raised her axe.

"Harley, please," Joker pleaded. "After everything that I've done for you. I rescued you. You were just a shy, meek little mouse when I met you at Arkham. So unsure of yourself, overlooked by everyone. No one saw how special you were until I did. I took you out of that world and I made you somebody! I made you strong! I made you Harley Quinn, a force to be reckoned with! I told you that no one would ever overlook you again, and now look at you. You can't kill me, you owe me!"

"Owe you?! You used me, you manipulated me! You made me feel weak so you could feel strong. You told me I was worthless and pushed me down just so I would beg you to lift me up again. You made me believe that I needed you, that you were the only one who would ever love me. Well you were wrong. And when I finally broke away from you, when I was finally my own person again, you tried to take away the one person who really believed in me, the man that I…the man that I love. You will never hurt me or anyone that I care about ever again. Never again!"

She dropped her axe and hit him with her fists, again and again. And when he was on the ground she got on top of him and kept hitting him. Every bone that she felt break under her fist was a victory. Every cry of pain that escaped his lips made her stronger. She screamed as she hit him again and again, taking away his power over her.

The vampires in the room were all gone, nothing but dust in the carpet, ready to be vacuumed up. Xander, Faith and Batman just looked on and watched while Harley took back herself. Finally after a few minutes of it, Batman stepped forward. "She's going to kill him," he said.

Xander just put a hand on his arm. "No she won't," he said. "She'll stop when she's ready. She has to get it out."

She did stop when her screams became tears. The Joker was still alive, but his face was a bloody pulp, nearly unrecognizable. Xander gathered her in his arms and let her cry. "You did it, Harley. You're free now. You beat your demons."

"I finally had a reason to," she said.

Xander locked eyes with her, losing himself if those glistening blue pools. "I love you," he said. It had been true for a while now, but he finally had the courage to say it.

"I love you," she returned. The last obstacle between them was gone now. The two of them kissed, lost in each other. The rest of the world just faded away into the background.

Faith smiled and playfully elbowed Batman in the ribs. "Ain't love grand," she said. Batman just made a noise in the back of his throat. "Say, tall dark and mysterious, what are you doing later, huh?"

"I'm taking the Joker to the hospital, and then back to Arkham," he said.

"So, after? Wanna grab a bite or something?"

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Slayer HQ

Cleveland, OH

One week later

Giles was shelving books in his study when Buffy and Willow walked in. "Giles, can we talk to you for a minute?" Buffy asked.

"Certainly girls, have a seat," Giles said.

The two sat on the small leather couch across from the bookshelf. "We want to talk to you about Xander," Willow said.

Giles sighed. "I believe we've had this conversation before," he said.

"We're not asking you to recall him from Gotham City," Buffy said. "But we're worried. It's been over a week now since Faith went there and she still isn't back yet and we still haven't heard anything from Xander."

"Faith called me a few days ago and told me that everything was fine, that they had taken care of the threat and that they were just tying up some loose ends and then she would be on her way back," Giles said.

"We know that," Willow said. "But why haven't we heard anything from Xander yet then? Maybe one of us should go to Gotham and try to find him, make sure that he's okay."

"Girls, I understand that you're worried about him. This is a new arrangement for all of us. But Xander is more than capable of performing his duties as a watcher, and I think that we should trust that. If he needs help, he'll reach out to us, as he has done. Faith has reported to me as well, Xander and his slayer have things well in hand in Gotham."

"It isn't a matter of us not trusting him, Giles," Buffy said. "We trust him, we just worry about him. We care about him and we don't want him to get hurt, what's wrong with that."

"I don't think that there's anything wrong with that, and I don't think Xander does either. I think what you both need to do is talk with him, try to understand where he's coming from."

"We've tried to talk to him Giles, but any time we bring up our concerns he just seems to shut down."

"You've talked to him, but have you really listened to him?" Giles asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked.

"I broached the subject with him the last time that we spoke, and I know that Xander understands your concerns and that he knows that they come from a place of love. And I know that he does plan on talking to you both about the subject. I would ask that you give him some time, let him do it when he's ready. He's going through a lot right now, a fair bit more than any of us know I would imagine. I think that if we trust him, and we respect him and we love him, which I know we all do, then we owe it to him to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him come to us when he's ready."

Buffy sighed. "I guess you're right, Giles," she said. Willow nodded.

Just then, Dawn stuck her head in from the hall. "Buffy, there's someone at the door for you," she said.

"Can it wait, Dawn. We're kind of having a moment here."

Dawn shrugged. "Okay, I'll just tell Xander and his slayer to come back later," she said, going back out into the hall.

"Okay, good. Tell them to…wait, what?! Xander?!" Buffy and Willow nearly tripped over each other rushing out of the study and down the hall toward the foyer. Giles smiled slightly and headed out after them. When they got there they found Dawn chatting with Xander and Faith, and another blonde girl with pigtails and bright blue eyes.

"Xander!" Buffy and Willow both called out at once. They rushed him and practically tackled him into a three-way hug.

"It's good to see you guys, too," Xander said.

After a moment the hug broke and Buffy and Willow both swatted him on the arm. "Doofus, why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Buffy said.

"Why haven't you called, you…big meanie?" Willow added.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, and I'm sorry that I haven't called, I am indeed a doofus and a big meanie and probably a few other things, but I'm here now and I hope that you can forgive me," Xander said.

Buffy and Willow answered by pulling him into another hug. Dawn smiled and patted Xander on the shoulder. "See, I told you, nobody can resist that smile."

The hug broke again and Giles stepped forward, extending his hand. "Welcome home, Xander," he said.

Xander shook it with a smile. "Thanks, Giles.

"I'm glad you're all here actually. There's someone that I'd like to introduce you all to." Xander took a step back and motioned for the other woman that he was with to step forward. He smiled at her and put his arm around her waist before they both turned back to the others. "Buffy, Willow, Giles, Dawn, I would like to introduce you to my slayer…and my girlfriend, Harley Quinn."

A sea of wide eyes and dropped jaws met the couple. Harley smiled and waved shyly. "Hi."

The End…For Now.


End file.
